One Way to Stop Whitewashing: It’s Got to Be Taught

AMERICAN THEATRE: A few months ago I was added to a seemingly innocuous Facebook group for alums of my high school theatre program, but a brief scroll through the feed showed ample brownface and whitewashed casting. Greatest hits included questionably cast productions of Hairspray, Aida, and Once on This Island. Though my time there spanned 2010 to 2014, and the conversations around culturally conscious casting have since turned mainstream, these practices continue, not just in my previous high school, but also in colleges and on the professional stage.